


Embroidered Curtains and Mismatched Socks | Yu-Gi-Oh! Christmas 2020

by DisposableVillain



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: BDSM, Bondage, Business, Christmas Party, Christmas fic, Christmas sex, Cute, Dirty Talk, Euroshipping, Family, Gay, Humour, Kleptoshipping - Freeform, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Miscommunication, Nonbinary Character, Other, Sex, Wholesome, but look, dv literally makes fun of his own fic tropes, extremely belated, gaming company, i'm depressed and underfunctioning, mlm, mokuba has kids, non-binary Mokuba, prompt, ryou is offended when yugi calls him a romcom trope, so i'm just glad i got it out, surprise engagement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:54:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28969404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisposableVillain/pseuds/DisposableVillain
Summary: "What if he's the embroidered curtains of people, and I'm just mismatched socks?"Yugi is holding his annual Christmas Eve party for the gang, and Ryou really wants his fiancé to be there. Seto, however, has a meeting on Christmas Eve, and a penchant for miscommunication.[ Euroshipping, Kleptoshipping ] [ MLM ]
Relationships: Atem/Marik Ishtar, Bakura Ryou/Kaiba Seto, Thief King Bakura/Mutou Yuugi
Kudos: 8





	Embroidered Curtains and Mismatched Socks | Yu-Gi-Oh! Christmas 2020

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So this fic is literally a month late, but you know what, it's here. I'm just going to backdate it. Anyway, this is all thanks to a prompt from the amazing Sita Bethel, who suggested that Ryou had an event or party he wanted to go to with Seto, and Seto couldn't make it because of a meeting. Everyone say thank you to Sita for a relatively un-angsty fic this year!  
> This is the first time in a while I haven't done a new relationship or a surprise engagement, so I'm making fun of myself at the end. You'll know when you see it.  
> Thank you all for your support over the year and here's hoping the rest of the year will be better!
> 
> CW for dom/sub interactions, dirty talk, light masochism, bondage, dom drop and (light) mention of previous abuse.

The air was cold and Ryou’s breath steamed as he walked, arms swinging by his sides.

“I don’t know why you’re this happy,” Bakhure complained, walking hunched beside Ryou. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, and his goat’s wool hat was pulled down over his forehead and ears.

“I understand that you don’t like this holiday,” Ryou said, smiling at him, “but I love it, so I’m happy.”

“It’s Western capitalist bullshit.”

“Well, it’s my favourite kind of Western capitalist bullshit,” Ryou told him, “so I’m going to be as happy as I please, no matter what you say.”

Domino city had maintained some of the date-night tradition. There were cute gifts in store as well as trees and elves, but they were less eye-catching. Lights were strung up across buildings, and colourful, ornamental decorations hung in alleyways - pretty but dull during the day, and bright and magical at night. Baubles, stars, reindeer, all crafted from steel and adorned with varying colour lights. They were Ryou’s favourite part of the decorations.

“Whatever.” Bakhure rolled his eyes. “Just help me find a good set of fairy lights for Malik so I can go home, yeah?”

Ryou laughed and took Bakhure’s hand, pulling it out of its pocket. “Not a chance. You’re helping me do some shopping for the party.”

“Okay!” Bakhure yanked his hand back to put it in his pocket again. “Just don’t do that, it’s cold.”

Ryou rolled his eyes but didn’t try to hold Bakhure’s hand again. Instead, he led Bakhure down Shop Street to one of the side alleys and into _SubCity_.

“Is this what I think it is?” Bakhure wiggled his eyebrows.

Ryou scoffed and pulled his black mask out of his pocket. “You wish.” He waited until Bakhure was wearing his mask too to enter, giving the cashier a small wave. It was Domino’s second-best game and comic store, but he didn’t exactly want to go to the _best_ and have Yugi knowing what he was getting for everyone.

“So I take it you got Atem as your Secret Santa?” Bakhure asked. The mask muffled his voice, so he was a little hard to hear over the music.

Ryou grinned. “Actually no, but I am getting him a present too.”

“You’re such a geek.” Bakhure leaned in to examine the _Pop!_ figurines. “Are you really getting a present for everyone?”

“Of course.” Ryou beamed at him, eyes crinkling. “You know giving presents is my kink.”

“Mm, second only to being tied up.” Bakhure glanced at him, then moved on to the shelf of vintage comic books. “Speaking of, is Seto coming?”

“Probably,” Ryou murmured. He paused in the middle of the aisle, examining a cute figurine of the Harpy sisters. It was only two thousand yen. He picked up the box. Sure, it was a little over budget, but Mai would love it.

“Oh, how pleased you sound.” Bakhure tilted his head back, watching Ryou from the corner of his eye. “He’s got a meeting?”

Ryou nodded. “He should be out before the party,” he said, “but the meetings can run over.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t just give him an ultimatum.” Bakhure ran his finger over a few manga spines on the top shelf, lingering on what Ryou recognised as one or two of the particularly sordid ones. “Tell him if he doesn’t show, no sex for a week.”

Ryou wrinkled his nose. “I understand your relationships now more than I ever wanted to.”

Bakhure flipped Ryou off and selected a copy of _The Crimson Rogue_ from the shelf. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t _love_ another piece of this.” He bumped Ryou with his hip.

Ryou snorted. “Oh no, you caught me. All those gaming sessions without showers in your shitty old apartment really enamoured me. I want you, I need you.”

“No need to be a prick about it.”

“I’m Irish, there’s always a need to be a prick about it.” Ryou winked but turned away. “Anyway, I’m not doing that to Seto. It’s not the type of relationship we have.” He eyed a wall of booster packs and reached out to the power-aid spell pack. “Jou still plays, right?”

Bakhure hardly even spared a glance at the wall. “You’d know better than me. Haven’t played in over a year now.”

Ryou’s fingers lingered over a dragon spell pack as he turned, frowning. His lips puckered as he examined Bakhure. “I thought you were in that tournament in Osaka in July.”

Bakhure scoffed. “Nah, I just told Yugi I was so I could get a free ride. It was great - he got up in the morning for duelling and slept at night, I got up at night for clubbing and slept in the morning. We only had a few hours of crossover and that kid is freaky.”

Ryou sighed but a grin teased his lips. “Only you would seduce the King of Games for the sake of a free hotel bed.” He walked up to the counter to pay for the figurine and two booster packs. If Jou didn’t still play, at least he could claim that he’d tried.

He paid, and then stepped outside to wait for Bakhure. When Bakhure emerged, Ryou linked arms with him.

“What were you doing out every night if you had Yugi fucking you?” He asked as they walked. He took off his mask so he could breathe a little better. “You two were together, right?”

Bakhure shrugged and scratched his nose over his mask. They were a comfort to him, he’d once said. Ryou supposed it reminded him of his days as a thief in Egypt, where he’d had to cover his face. In an age of cameras on every corner, he couldn’t blame Bakhure for seeking the safety of anonymity.

“Yeah, but I wanted to check out a few clubs. I don’t always go out looking for a hook-up.”

Ryou hummed, eyebrows arching. “Would the clubs you were interested in be part of a specific _scene_ , per chance?”

Bakhure kept his gaze on the ground. “What of it if they were?”

Ryou simply nodded and gave Bakhure’s arm a squeeze. “Alright, just stay safe. And remember, you can always come to me for information if you want to explore stuff with Yugi or… anyone really-”

“Okay, I’m sufficiently embarrassed now. Can we move on?” Bakhure turned his head away from Ryou. His skin was too dark to blush properly, but his cheeks looked a touch ruddier than usual.

Ryou smiled until Bakhure glanced back at him. “Sure. I think I’ve reached my ‘embarrass the former Thief King’ quota, so I can take my mandatory fifteen-minute break.”

“Make it an hour and I’ll buy you a new Monster World figure mould.”

Ryou’s eyes shone but he pretended to weigh up his options for a moment to tease Bakhure. “Hmm… deal.”

“ _Thank_ you,” Bakhure sighed. “Now can we please get the fairy lights and leave? It’s like these people have never heard of social distancing.”

“Fairy lights and a coffee break?” Ryou offered.

Bakhure’s nose scrunched but he nodded. “Fine, but you’re paying.”

Ryou scoffed. Like there was any chance of Bakhure paying. “Agreed.”

They made a quick job of buying a variety of colourful and warm fairy lights - the good ones that would last until at least next Christmas - and then found a relatively empty café with heating. They ordered a latte with four pumps of cinnamon flavouring for Ryou, and a hot chocolate with soy milk and a shot of coffee for Bakhure before sitting.

Ryou sighed as he pulled off his coat and mask, sinking into one of the over-plump armchairs. “Oh, this is much better.”

Bakhure hummed in agreement, taking a seat across from Ryou. He sat with his back straight, drumming his fingers on his leg. “So how are you going to get Seto to the party?”

Ryou shrugged. “I’m just going to tell him I’d like him to be there.”

“Oh wow, that works?” Bakhure’s eyes widened. “Time for me to run and tell my therapist that I’d like to have no trauma or ADHD!”

“Don’t be a dick.” Ryou scowled at Bakhure. “I’m not going to threaten him just to get him to a Christmas party.”

Bakhure shrugged as the waitress came over with their drinks on a tray. Ryou thanked her as she set them down, and then thanked her again as she left.

“You’re too much of a people pleaser,” Bakhure mumbled, picking up his hot chocolate. “Thanking the waitress twice?”

“She’s probably working a long shift,” Ryou said, frowning. “There’s nothing wrong with being polite.”

“Twice is still excessive.” Bakhure blew the top of the hot chocolate, eying Ryou over the mug. “And you can’t just keep asking Seto politely to show up and then get depressed when he doesn’t. That’s-”

“I know, I know.” Ryou leaned his elbows on his knees. Scraps of his hair hung around his face. “The definition of madness is repeating the same process but expecting a different result.”

“Precisely.” Bakhure shot Ryou with one finger and sipped his drink. “And I’m meant to be the mad queer in this relationship.”

“You’re always the mad queer.” Ryou leaned in to flick Bakhure’s forehead but missed.

Bakhure caught Ryou’s wrist and pushed him back with a small grin. “Then don’t try to upstage me. Change it up and ask him differently. Better yet, _tell_ him you want him there.”

Ryou sighed and sat back. “I’ll think about it. Does that satisfy you?”

Bakhure nodded. “Slightly, but I’ll survive with that. Now drink your coffee before it goes cold.”

* * *

Ryou couldn’t help but smile when Seto opened the door for him. Usually, Ryou used his key or one of the staff members opened the door if he forgot, so it was always a nice surprise when Seto opened the door himself when Ryou rang the bell.

“Hi,” Seto greeted, leaning in to take a few of Ryou’s bags. “How was your day?”

Ryou’s smile grew at the awkward affection and stood on his toes to kiss Seto’s cheek. “It was fun, thank you. How about yours?”

“Productive.” Seto carried the bags to the den, then turned to Ryou. “Dinner’s ready if you’re hungry. Or did you eat out?”

Ryou dropped the rest of the bags in and shut the door. “I had lunch with Bakhure earlier, but I could eat again. You made chicken stir fry, right?”

Seto nodded. Since their engagement, they had worked out an arrangement where they each cooked once per week, both because Ryou enjoyed it and because he wanted the staff to get more time off. “You don’t have to eat simply because I cooked.”

“I’m not,” Ryou assured him, touching Seto’s arm. “You know I have an insatiable appetite.”

Seto hummed but followed as Ryou walked down the hall at the right side of the stairs to the dining room. The table was covered with a casual cream cloth, but the silver Blue Eyes candlesticks were set up and lit, and two places were set across from one another with glasses of red wine and steaming stir fry.

“This is beautiful.” Ryou said, turning to smile at Seto once more. “You didn’t need to put out candles.”

Seto looked down slightly, cheeks pink. “You like the candles. Of course, I put them out.”

Ryou took Seto’s hand and squeezed it, his smile growing. “Well, I love it. Thank you.”

Seto hummed and led Ryou to the table, pulling out his chair for him. Once Ryou was seated, Seto sat across from him and they chatted as they ate.

“So they’re still holding out on that deal?” Ryou chewed a bamboo shoot slowly. “I thought Kaiba Corp was the only company with the necessary technological advancements for them.”

“It is.” Seto twirled his noodles on his fork as he spoke. “Their bluff is weak, and they’ll figure that out soon enough. Once they do, they’ll make a subpar offer, I’ll counter it, they’ll counter it, I’ll start to walk away, and they’ll eventually agree to eighty percent to avoid risk of me refusing to give it at anything below eighty five later.”

“Wow.” Ryou shook his head. “They’re really going in for a fight they have no hope of winning.”

“Precisely.” Seto chewed his noodles and swallowed before continuing. “I have my next meeting with them on the twenty fourth, so it should be wrapped up by the new year, but it would be much easier if-”

Ryou stared down at his plate, not entirely listening to Seto talking about how much easier the deal would be if the other company just realised the futility in fighting him. The party was on the twenty fourth. Of course, the meeting could be in the morning, or even late at night, but that was unlikely.

Seto went quiet for a second too long, and Ryou looked up to see Seto watching him with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry, what was the question?”

“I asked if you were listening.” Seto set down his fork. “Is everything okay, Ryou?”

Ryou swallowed and looked down at his food. “Well… Yugi’s party is on the twenty fourth. Will you be able to make it with that meeting?”

The pause told Ryou everything he needed to know.

“You forgot about it.”

“Yes,” Seto admitted. At least he was honest about it. “I’m not sure if I can make it. I’ll do my best but-”

Ryou shook his head. “It’s fine.”

Seto blinked at him. “I beg your pardon?”

“I said it’s fine.” Ryou lifted his head to smile and took a bite of chicken. “You have a meeting. There are always more parties.”

Seto nibbled his lower lip, in that way that Ryou usually found endearing. Now, it just made him want to crawl under the table and curl up into a ball. “Are you certain?”

“Of course.” Ryou nodded. “Don’t worry about it, Seto. We can celebrate together.”

Seto watched Ryou for a moment before he resumed eating as well. “If you’re certain.”

“Of course I am.” Ryou eyed his food as he twirled noodles on his fork. His chest ached - physically ached - and each bite was more and more forced until he had slogged through enough to seem polite at the very least.

“I-”

“I should get to bed.” Ryou smiled, not quite meeting Seto’s gaze. Instead, he focused on the spot between Seto’s eyes - the slight hook on his nose. “I have an early day tomorrow.”

Seto frowned. “You know you could call in a touch late if you need-”

“It’s fine. I have some deadlines.” Ryou stood and circled the table to kiss the top of Seto’s head. “Thank you for dinner.”

“I hope you enjoyed it.” Seto looked up, perhaps to return the kiss, but Ryou had already pulled back. “Are you sure everything is okay?”

“Of course.” Ryou smiled, but it stung his cheeks like he’d been forcing a customer service smile for too long. “Are you coming to bed yet?”

Seto nodded slowly. “I’ll… be down shortly. I’ll see you later if you’re still awake.”

“I probably won’t be.” Ryou kissed the top of Seto’s head again and gave him a quick squeeze before releasing him. “Night, sleep well.”

“You too. I love you.”

“And I love you too.” Ryou managed to keep his smile on his face long enough to get to the hallway. Once he was out of Seto’s sight however, it dropped, and Ryou massaged his cheeks on the way back up to his and Seto’s bedroom.

The silk sheets soothed the dull ache in his skin when he finally slipped between them, and later, when Seto came in by light of his cell phone, Ryou pretended to be asleep. Seto undressed quietly and climbed in beside Ryou, slowly wrapping his arms around his fiancé.

“Ryou?” He whispered. “Are you awake?”

Ryou managed a soft snore, and Seto just sighed and lay down properly.

It wasn’t until long after Seto’s breath deepened that Ryou, too, finally managed to drift to sleep.

* * *

Seto tapped his Bluetooth pen against his desk as he stared at the screen in front of him. The day started badly with Ryou leaving before Seto woke up and had only deteriorated from there with every last mistake or word spoken to him grating against Seto’s spine. He found himself glancing at the clock every ten minutes, even though he told himself that time wouldn’t go any faster just by looking up.

When it hit half twelve, Seto plugged his pen in and stood up, striding out of his office.

His assistant, Miho, looked up from her phone as he walked down the hall. “Kaiba-san?”

She was one of his old schoolmates from middle school, or so he was told. Yugi had recommended her highly and, as much as Seto loathed to admit it based on that fact, she was the best assistant he’d ever had.

“Have I any meetings in the next hour?” Seto asked.

Miho glanced over at her diary, though from experience, she rarely actually needed the diary to know his appointment times. “No, you’re free until two. Are you taking an early lunch?”

Seto nodded. “Yes, I should be back well within the hour, so I’ll be early for the meeting.”

“I’ll make note of that.” Miho smiled at him. “Tell Ryou I say hello.”

Seto nodded and strode to the elevator, punching the button for floor twenty-eight. He could surely convince Ryou to take an early lunch with him. Maybe they could go down to the creperie Ryou enjoyed, the one with boba tea.

On floor thirty-two, where Ryou normally worked, the employees were used to Seto visiting to take his fiancé for lunch. Twenty-eight, where Ryou was currently working on a gaming system collaboration, was still adjusting to such a concept, so as Seto walked down the hall of cubicles, faces turned white and heads shot down to their work.

A grin teased the corners of Seto’s lips. He wasn’t about to complain if his presence forced employees to work harder out of panic. The grin fell. Though recent studies were showing that was, unfortunately, less effective.

He ducked into Ryou’s office to see his fiancé bent over his laptop, white hair tied up into a messy bun with stray hairs falling into his eyes. Ryou nibbled his lip as he worked, and there were three empty coffee cups in various spots on his desk.

Seto smiled and tapped on the door, and Ryou’s head shot up. “Hi,” he greeted gently. “Everything okay there?”

Ryou sighed and dragged a hand over his forehead, pushing stray hairs back for just a second before they fell over his eyes again. “Yeah, just tired.” He lowered his hand and rolled his wrist. “We’re getting closer to the deadline, so everything’s getting more hectic.” His eyes were darker than normal, and the tell-tale bags under his eyes were beginning to stain his skin purple.

“You’re overworking,” Seto said.

“Yes.” Ryou shrugged. “But you don’t get to tell me off for that when you constantly overwork.”

“I suppose we’re alike in that manner.” Seto shut the door behind him and sat down in the chair across from Ryou. “I was thinking we could take early lunch. You clearly need a break, and I have an hour and a half free, so maybe we could get… crepes and boba?”

Ryou groaned and buried his face in his hands. “That sounds perfect, Set,” he sighed, “but I can’t. I really need to do a sweep of this new algorithm to take out the last of the bugs the betas reported.”

“Let someone else do it.” Seto leaned in and put his hand on top of Ryou’s laptop, as though to close it. “This is meant to be the benefit of being engaged to the CEO.”

Ryou covered Seto’s hand with his own, stopping him from shutting the laptop. Their matching silver rings shone under the warm light from the window. “I really _can’t_ today, Seto. We’re all swamped.” He shook his head. “Maybe you could go for lunch with Atem? He’s working on programming for another project, which is a breeze for him.”

“So, get him to debug the system.”

“That would only leave mistakes, and more work for me later.” Ryou shook his head. “Trust me, it’s better if I just get this done now. Okay?”

Seto sighed but stood up. “Okay. Just make sure that you eat at some stage. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Ryou smiled and blew Seto a kiss. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Seto nodded and left the office. When he looked back, through the window, as he was closing the door, Ryou was already buried in his work again, skin turned an odd green by the dim light of his machine and hair too bright with his back to the light.

Seto glanced around and made his way down the hall to Atem’s office. It was the exact same size as Ryou’s but was made cosier by the array of houseplants and trinkets that Atem had added.

“You really didn’t have enough stuff in your palace?” Seto asked as he walked in.

Atem looked up from his notebook, crimson dreadlocks and wooden glasses framing his face. “It’s amazing that despite your intellectual abilities, that is the only thing you ever say when you walk in here.”

“Don’t keep adding more useless trinkets and perhaps I’ll stop saying it.” Seto flicked the paw of a cheap gold waving cat.

“Hey, leave that!” Atem frowned until the paw slowed back down to its usual speed. “So, if you didn’t come in to insult my decor, why are you here?”

“Lunch.” Seto glanced at him. “I assume you haven’t eaten yet?”

Atem hummed and glanced at the clock. “You would be correct. I can take an early lunch.” He closed over his notebook and stood, stretching. His shirt bunched up at his waist as he relaxed again. “Where are we going?”

Seto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “At this stage, I don’t care.” He just needed to get out of the office.

Atem nodded and grabbed his coat. “Lead the way.”

Neither of them spoke again until they had left the elevator and were outside in the bustling streets. Atem shivered at the breeze and pulled his coat on.

“There’s a decent food truck nearby. Want to try that?”

“Sure.” Seto glanced around, following Atem down the street.

Atem hummed and bumped Seto’s arm with his. “So what’s going on?” Seto raised an eyebrow at the question. “You’re taking early lunch, with me no less, and you didn’t object to going to a food truck. You also referred to my past life rather than ignoring it or passing over it.”

“Well, it was clearly a factual event given that I also lived through it.” Seto frowned at Atem. “And I trust my own experience far more than any of your recollections.”

“Still, you usually ignore it because it suits you unless someone else brings it up. This time you made direct reference to it yourself.” Atem slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket and twisted so he was walking backwards down the path.

Seto rolled his eyes. “If you crash into a tree, I’m not helping you.”

“I won’t.” Atem grinned like it was a fact. From experience, it probably was. “Besides, that doesn’t explain wanting to go to a food truck for lunch with me.”

“I don’t want to. I just don’t care to make a decision right now.” Seto looked away. Atem didn’t respond, simply watching him until Seto broke the silence himself. “Has Ryou spoken to you?”

“About what?” Atem twisted to avoid walking into a pole, and then turned to face forwards again.

“Anything. Is he mad about something?”

Atem’s confused expression dropped and he pursed his lips. “I don’t think he’s happy you’re missing the party on Christmas,” he admitted. He took a right and stopped by a large white food truck. A blue neon sign labelled it ‘Falafel Truck’.

Seto frowned as he stopped beside Atem. “I already spoke to him about that. He said it was fine.”

“Oh, come on, you should know fine never means fine by now.” Atem rolled his eyes. “You’re meant to be more in tune with this time than me.”

Seto ignored the dig and stared at a stamped-out cigarette on the ground. “So, he’s just… upset I can’t make it?”

“Exactly.” Atem nodded. “So just find a way to make it up to him.”

Seto nodded, chewing his lower lip. “Okay. Thank you for that.” He glanced up at the food truck and wrinkled his nose. “Do you really eat here?”

“Of course.” Atem grinned. “It’s got great food.”

“You’re going to get food poisoning one of these days.” Seto rolled his eyes. “Come with me. I’ll get you some proper falafel.” He scowled at the truck. “And a pay raise if you can’t afford to eat anywhere better at lunch.”

“Of course I can afford to.” Atem grabbed Seto’s arm. “I like it here, and I’m subjecting you to eating here. You gave me the choice; you can live with it.”

Seto huffed and shook off Atem’s hand but stayed where he was. “Fine, but if I get sick because of this-”

“I know, I know. No one will find my body.” Atem smiled at him.

“Precisely.”

* * *

Ryou yawned as he walked into their bedroom, throwing his coat over the chair. It was dark, the curtains drawn, with only the dim light from the moon filtering through the window. He could vaguely see Seto lying on the bed and he pulled his hair out of its bun. “Sorry I’m late,” he sighed as he shut the door. “The deadlines are killing us right now.” He rolled his shoulders and his neck cracked. He’d left earlier to walk to work to clear his head after the previous night, and it had helped a great deal, but now he was exhausted from lack of sleep.

“It’s okay,” Seto assured him. He didn’t move from his spot on the bed, which was odd, but Ryou brushed it off as him being comfy after going to bed early.

Ryou untied his tie and unbuttoned his collar before walking over. “How was your lunch with Atem?”

“Productive.”

He could almost hear the smile in Seto’s voice.

Ryou sat on the bed and toed off his shoes before leaning in to kiss Seto’s cheek. It wasn’t until then that he saw exactly what Seto was wearing.

A dusky blue thong and bustier clung to his pale skin, with matching stockings pulled up to his thighs. He was smiling and turned his head to steal a kiss from Ryou’s lips. “I take it you like what you see?” He murmured.

Ryou licked his suddenly dry lips. “Very much so.” He had another early start in the morning, but it was only ten. He could afford an hour or two before he had to sleep. He shifted to lean in, kissing Seto properly. “What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion.” Seto tilted his head up. His eyes shone in the dull light. “Just thought it might be good for us to let off some steam.”

Ryou grinned and cupped Seto’s cheek, kissing him once more. He caught Seto’s lower lip between his teeth and sucked on it as he pulled back, eyes lidded. Seto whined softly.

“I hope you don’t have an early start.”

Seto shook his head. “I’m not in until eleven.”

“Good.” Ryou pulled off his shirt and pressed Seto down into the mattress, peppering his neck and jaw with nips and bites. “Because I’m going to fuck you nice… and deep… and hard.”

Seto moaned, tilting his head back to give Ryou a little more access to his neck. “Fuck, Ry,” he gasped.

Ryou ran his hand up Seto’s side. With his other hand, he pulled open the top drawer of the bedside table and pulled out a length of cobalt cotton rope. He pulled back, sitting in Seto’s lap to keep him pressed to the bed. His ass rested firmly on Seto’s hard cock and Ryou rolled his hips slowly, just enough to tease him.

“Ropes or no?”

“Yes please.” Seto bit his lip. Ryou wasn’t entirely sure how he had ever expected any other answer. Seto was the biggest rope bunny he’d ever laid eyes on.

Ryou took his hands and bound them, making quick work of it though he also checked that Seto had enough room to pull free if necessary. Then, he fastened Seto’s wrists with the leftover cord to the headboard. “Light?”

“Green.” Seto gave a quick tug. “And green for the rope too. Enough room to move, but also tight enough.”

“Good.” Ryou smoothed his hands over Seto’s chest.

Seto’s breath hitched and Ryou shifted his hips just enough to give Seto an ounce of friction, but not quite enough for it to be satisfying.

“What do you want?” He leaned down, brushing his lips over Seto’s ear. “Hm?”

Seto squeezed his eyes shut, arching up. “I- I want-”

“Go on…” Ryou nibbled Seto’s earlobe. “What… do you want?”

Seto groaned and hitched his hips. “I want you to fuck me.”

“How?” Ryou tilted his head. He snaked his hand between them to cup Seto’s crotch. The lacy thong Seto wore looked fit to burst, the thin fabric barely containing his swelled cock. “Do you want me to ride you? Or do you want my cock inside you?”

Seto stretched to try and kiss Ryou, but his fiancé hovered just out of reach. He huffed. “I want to kiss you.”

“Oh, do you?” Ryou furrowed his eyebrows in faux concern. “Can you not reach me?”

“You know full well that I can’t.” Seto met his gaze.

Ryou pressed his finger to Seto’s lips before leaning in, so his fiancé couldn’t try to steal another kiss from him without permission. “Tell me,” he murmured, rolling his ass against Seto’s cock, “how you want me to fuck you-” Seto moaned, hitching his lips up. “-and I might let you kiss me.”

“I-” Seto shut his eyes. “I want- I-”

“Yes?” Ryou prompted. “Do you want my cock inside you?” Seto nodded. “Say it.”

“I want-” Seto swallowed. “I want your cock inside me. Please, Ry.”

Ryou hummed and pulled his hand away from Seto’s mouth, pressing their lips together. Seto moaned, returning the kiss eagerly. Ryou fumbled in the drawer again for the lube and condoms, and pulled them onto the bed for easy access later in the night before slipping his tongue into Seto’s mouth. He shifted his weight onto his knees and moved between Seto’s legs, slowly moving them apart as they kissed.

When he pulled back, Ryou ran his hands along the narrow stretch of skin between Seto’s stockings and thong. “You look so good in this,” he murmured. “I’m so fucking tempted just to fuck you in this…” He dragged his finger along Seto’s clothed cock. Seto bit his lip hard and leaned his head back. “But as good as you look… these will have to go.”

Ryou hooked his fingers into the waistband of Seto’s underwear and tugged them down, tossing the thong somewhere onto the floor. He unhooked the bustier too, but with Seto’s wrists tied, he couldn’t take it fully off, so it stayed bunched up at Seto’s wrists.

He leaned in, pressing a kiss to Seto’s thigh. “Much better.”

“Ry-” Seto groaned. “Ryou, _please_ -”

The second the plea left Seto’s lips, Ryou wrapped his hand around Seto’s cock and dragged his tongue up along the heated flesh. Seto bit his lip hard, and Ryou fumbled for the lube. He popped the cap and wrapped his lips around Seto’s cock, teasing the head with his tongue. It kept Seto distracted enough for the cold not to bother him as Ryou slipped one, then two, then three fingers into him.

He pulled back, releasing Seto’s dick with a soft pop, and ripped open a condom wrapper. “Is this what you want?” He asked, pulling the condom on. He added a little extra lube, just for safety’s sake.

“Yes,” Seto breathed. Ryou hovered over him, propped up on one arm, hair dripping like a translucent curtain around their faces. He used one hand to guide his cock inside Seto, and they both moaned at the sensation.

Ryou bit his lip and paused when he was deep enough that he could release his own cock. “You okay?” He murmured, breath heavy in his chest.

Seto nodded and stretched up to kiss Ryou. Ryou allowed it with a soft hum.

“I’m perfect,” Seto whispered against Ryou’s lips. “You can go.”

“You’re sure?” Ryou rolled his hips just a touch to give Seto a chance to test the waters. With both of their chronic pain, he liked to double check everything.

This time, however, Seto nodded and wrapped his long legs around Ryou’s waist, pulling them flush against one another. “I’m sure,” he said. “You can move.”

Ryou kissed Seto again and thrust into him. Seto moaned into Ryou’s mouth, clinging to his hips with his legs, and Ryou took that as a sign to keep going. His rhythm picked up and he shifted angles once or twice until Seto buried his face in Ryou’s shoulder and shouted his name.

“Ryou!”

Ryou blew a stray lock of hair from his face and used his free hand to twine his fingers through Seto’s hair, tugging his head back. Seto’s pupils were blown out; whether from that particular action or the sex in general didn’t matter so long as he was enjoying himself.

“Is _this_ what you want?” Ryou asked. He grazed his teeth over Seto’s lip and shifted his grip to Seto’s chin. “Me fucking you until you scream?”

Seto clenched his jaw and nodded, rolling his hips up to meet Ryou’s thrusts. “Yes! Yes, Ryou, more!”

“More?” Ryou licked his lower lip and thrust harder into Seto. “Like this? Tell me what you want, Seto, and I’ll give it to you. You just need… to _say_ it.”

“I-” Seto squeezed his eyes shut again.

Ryou traced his thumb over Seto’s lower lip. “Open your eyes, love.” Seto obliged after a second. “Use your words. What do you want?”

“I want-” Seto’s legs tightened around Ryou’s waist. “I want you to _fuck me._ ”

Ryou hummed playfully. “Am I not already doing that?” He leaned in, lips brushing against Seto’s ear. “Or do you want me to fuck you harder? Faster?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Say it,” Ryou teased.

“Damn it! Fuck me,” Seto groaned, “harder! Faster!” His head fell back, and Ryou wasn’t sure if the blush spreading across Seto’s cheeks was one of pleasure or embarrassment, or maybe both. “I want- I want you to fuck me until I cry!”

It was a common enough statement from Seto, and Ryou was just happy his tears weren’t from pain anymore. Ryou propped himself up on both elbows, one either side of Seto’s head, and sped up his thrusts, slamming into Seto. Seto’s jaw dropped and he moaned, loud and low.

“Oh, fuck!”

Gods, the expletives that dropped from that man’s mouth sounded like church bells to Ryou’s ears, and he craved more _._ More of Seto’s tight ass around his prick, more of Seto clutching him tighter, more of Seto’s dusky moans. _More_.

“Ryou!” Seto gasped. “Oh, fuck, Ry- Ryou, I- I’m-”

Ryou reached between them and wrapped his hand around Seto’s cock. “Are you close?”

Seto nodded, forcing his eyes open. They shone in the moonlight, an ethereal azure, pupils more than twice their usual size. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, hitching into Ryou’s touch.

Ryou’s lips quirked up and he kissed the corner of Seto’s mouth. “Gods, you’re stunning,” he whispered. “I love you.”

Seto’s arms stretched and he frowned when he was stopped by the rope. “Damn it, I want to hug you,” he huffed. “I love you too.” A particularly well-placed thrust melted his frown and he arched. “Oh, fuck!”

Ryou kissed down Seto’s jaw and bit the bottom of his collarbone, sucking the skin there where it would be easier to cover. His rhythm had to slow, with touching Seto’s cock at the same time, but Seto seemed too far gone to care.

“Aw,” Ryou cooed sweetly, “you look like you’re about to cry.”

“F-F- Ry- Fuck- Ryou!” Seto’s head fell to the side. Moisture shone at the corners of his eyes. “I-I’m-”

Ryou sped up, stroking Seto’s cock faster. “Go on,” he murmured. “Cum for me.”

Seto shouted, eyes slamming shut. A tiny tear trickled down his cheek. “Ryou!” Seto arched, body going rigid as he came.

Ryou groaned as Seto tightened around him and he released Seto’s cock, thrusting into him again. His own orgasm was building, and Seto shifted up to suck Ryou’s neck. The pain shot straight to his cock and Ryou cursed, fumbling.

“Seto- oh, gods, I- I-”

Seto hummed and ran his tongue along the hollow in Ryou’s throat. “Cum for me,” he echoed.

Ryou buried his face in Seto’s shoulder, whining as he came inside him.

Seto kissed the side of his head as Ryou shuddered, and after a minute, he slowly pulled out of his fiancé.

“Holy fuck…”

“That was amazing.” Seto grinned. “Or at least, it was for me.”

“I’m glad.” Ryou smiled and reached up to rub Seto’s hands. “Wiggle your fingers.”

Seto obliged with ease and Ryou gently began untying him. Once Seto’s hands were free, Ryou tossed the ropes off to the side and pulled him up for another kiss. Their lips passed over one another softly, and Ryou cupped Seto’s cheeks.

“Not that I’m not ecstatic, but what prompted that?” He asked.

Seto shook his head, a small grin on his face. “Nothing really,” he said. “I just thought it would be a nice surprise.”

“It definitely was.” Ryou kissed him again and pulled the condom off. He tied it off at the top and stood to throw it in the bin. He then grabbed one of the wipes from Seto’s bedside locker and used it to clean off his hands properly. “Are you up for a shower?”

“Sure. I just need a moment.” Seto shook out his hands and slowly sat up.

Ryou used the chance to slip into the adjoining bathroom and turn on the shower. He laid out the bathmat so neither of them would slip, and then set two fluffy towels on the clawed-foot bathtub. Ryou tied his hair up in a knot and stepped into the shower. By the time Seto joined him, he was just finishing soaping down. The water spilled down his shoulders and chest, easing whatever tension remained from the day’s work.

When Seto opened the shower, Ryou looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Would you wash my back for me?”

“I’d be delighted to.” Seto took the offered washcloth and kissed Ryou’s shoulder before carefully running the cloth over Ryou’s skin.

Ryou hummed and tilted his head to the side, swaying under the stream of water. When Seto finished, Ryou rinsed out the washcloth and added more soap, turning to him. “Your turn.”

Seto smiled, just a touch, and turned to allow Ryou access to his back.

Ryou smoothed his hand over the pale skin, frowning. “Did I do this?” Seto’s back had several scars on it from his childhood, but now, there were fresh scratch marks, maybe from a few days earlier.

Seto simply threw Ryou a smirk over his shoulder, probably trying to appear suave. “Maybe.”

“Oh, Seto…” Ryou pressed his forehead between Seto’s shoulder blades. “I didn’t-”

“Hey, it’s fine.” Seto turned, taking Ryou’s wrists in his hands. Ryou kept his head down. “I would have said something if it hurt in a bad way, Ryou. You know I’m not above using safe words if I need them.”

“Still…” Ryou peered up at Seto through his fringe. His gaze landed on Seto’s lower neck, already rife with blossoming purple bruises, now sporting fresh red ones. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Seto wrapped his arms around Ryou and sighed. “I’m sorry too.”

Ryou shook his head, placing his hands on Seto’s waist, cautious not to squeeze in case it affected a spot of sensitive skin. “Why are _you_ sorry?”

“I should have known this party meant something to you.”

Ryou paused for a beat and pulled back, just a touch. “The party?” Right, Yugi’s Christmas eve one. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I…” Seto frowned. “Isn’t that why you were upset with me earlier?”

“I wasn’t upset with you.” Ryou shook his head. “Well, I was in the morning but I went for a walk, and I sorted through it. I was just stressed with deadlines at lunch. I… Seto, did you set all this up because you thought I was angry?”

Seto licked his lower lip, not quite meeting Ryou’s gaze. “I thought it would be nice,” he said, “for both of us.”

Ryou shook his head and stepped out of the shower.

“Ryou!”

He grabbed a towel, roughly drying himself, and strode into the bedroom as Seto rushed to turn off the shower and follow him.

“Ryou, just wait-” Seto was dripping sudsy water all over his beautifully crafted carpet, and in any other situation, Ryou would have been in stitches over it. But it wasn’t any other situation.

“If you thought I was angry-” He tugged on a pair of his boxers. He didn’t check which ones. “-why didn’t you _talk_ to me about it?”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal!” Seto dragged a hand through his hair.

Ryou huffed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from the closet, pulling both on. The t-shirt hung loose on his shoulders, so he was fairly certain it was Seto’s, but the pants fit.

“Why are you getting dressed?” Seto caught Ryou’s hand. “We can talk about this now if it’s bothering you.”

“It wasn’t!” Ryou turned to face Seto. His fiancé looked paler than usual, brow knitted above his eyes, narrowing them. “Was I disappointed you couldn’t make it? Of course! But it wasn’t an issue!”

“Then why is it an issue now?”

“Because you didn’t talk to me!” Ryou sat on his side of the bed and pulled on two socks from his locker drawer. Again, he didn’t think to check which ones they were.

Seto tried to sit beside him on the bed, but Ryou stood, tapping his toes on the carpet to make sure his shoes were on properly.

“Ryou, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Ryou swallowed and turned to face him. “Why would you think I was angry about something like that?” He whispered. “Why- who told you that? Because I know if you came to that conclusion yourself, you _would_ have asked.”

Seto opened and closed his mouth a few times. Ryou waited.

Finally, Seto sighed and looked away. “Atem,” he mumbled, “brought up the possibility at lunch.”

Ryou ran his tongue over his lower lip and looked away. “Okay,” he whispered. “Good to know. You’ll talk to Atem, but you won’t talk to your own fiancé.”

“That’s not fair!” Seto stood. “You talk to Bakhure and Yugi about everything.”

“Not before I talk to you!” Ryou’s head snapped up and his hair fell loose of the haphazard knot he’d scraped it into for his shower. “Not about important things!”

Seto flinched, and Ryou took a deep breath. He pressed his fingers to his temples.

“I just…” He shook his head and began again. “I just need… I need a little space.” He picked up his laptop bag. “I’ve still got some clothes at Bakhure’s, so… I’ll be there for a night or two.”

“Please,” Seto whispered. His voice cracked. “Ryou, come on. Talk to me.”

Ryou blinked a few times to keep the heat building beneath his eyelids at bay. “I just need a few hours to myself.” He looked up at Seto again. “Then we can talk.” He left the room before his resolve could crack, and hurried downstairs.

It was dark out, and raining, but Ryou ignored the maid that offered to call the chauffeur for him. Instead, he grabbed his coat from the rack by the door and draped it over his head. He jogged down the driveway to the gate, punched in the code, and left the grounds. The bus stop was only a five-minute walk, so he hugged his computer bag to his chest to keep it dry and then waited the twenty minutes for the bus to arrive.

When it showed up, Ryou dropped into an empty seat, sent Bakhure a text explaining the situation and then stared out the window for the entire ride. When he stepped off the bus, Bakhure was waiting for him at the stop with a red umbrella. He held one arm open and wrapped it around Ryou as he neared.

“Hey, brat,” he mumbled into Ryou’s hair. “Kettle’s boiling upstairs. Let’s get you warm, yeah?”

Ryou nodded, doing his best to swallow the lump in his throat, and followed Bakhure from the bus stop to the apartment complex. The elevator was still broken, so Bakhure closed the umbrella and shook it off as they stepped inside, and they trudged up the two flights of stairs to his flat.

Bakhure unlocked the door and held it open for Ryou, and a blast of heat hit him as he stepped in.

“I turned on all the heating when you text,” Bakhure explained. “Figured you could do with it if you walked from Kaiba’s to the stop.” He dropped the umbrella on the ground and tugged off his coat. “You have a set of pyjamas here too if you want them, and- oof-”

Ryou threw his arms around Bakhure, burying his face in the Thief King’s shoulder. Bakhure carefully wound his arms up, beneath Ryou’s shoulders, holding him closer.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured.

Ryou nodded and sniffled. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I-” He was shaking. Damn it, and apologising again. “I just- I needed-”

Bakhure rubbed slow circles into Ryou’s back. “It’s okay,” he repeated. “You’re fine, Ryou. I’ve got you. You can stay as long as you need.”

Ryou shuddered in his arms. “I think I hurt him,” he whispered. Bakhure’s hand stilled. “His back - I- I think I hurt him when I scratched him- oh, gods, what if I-”

“Hey.” Bakhure pulled back to cup Ryou’s cheeks. “Ryou, you’re going through a dom drop.”

Ryou squeezed his eyes shut. He _knew_ that, but it didn’t mean he knew how to pull himself out of it. He awkwardly toed off his shoes while still in Bakhure’s arms, for lack of anything else to do.

“Kaiba’s used your safe words before, right?” Bakhure asked. Ryou nodded. “Recently?” Ryou nodded. “Recent enough to be when you scratched his back?”

This time, Ryou shook his head.

“Was it ever because you hurt him too much?”

“That’s not the point!”

“It is.” Bakhure moved his grip to Ryou’s shoulders. “You would never hurt Kaiba intentionally.”

Ryou blinked back the building tears. “But what if I did unintentionally? What if I hurt him, and he didn’t want to say anything in case it upset me?”

“Kaiba has way too much self-preservation for that,” Bakhure said, “and you know that. Come on, Ryou. If it bothered him, he would have told you.”

Ryou sniffled and buried his face in Bakhure’s shoulder again. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know you’re trying to help. I just- I can’t-”

“It’s okay.” Bakhure returned to holding Ryou tightly and sat him down on the couch. With one arm still around Ryou’s waist, he reached up and grabbed a fluffy blanket, probably one Ryou himself had left there, and wrapped it around them.

Ryou curled closer to him. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“It’s not a problem.” Bakhure smiled. “Gods know you’ve helped me with enough breakdowns.”

A feeble laugh escaped Ryou and he wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve. After a moment, he pulled back. Bakhure shifted to tuck the blanket closer around Ryou.

“Do you really think he’s okay?” Ryou asked.

Bakhure paused for a second, and then secured the blanket around Ryou’s shoulders by tucking it between Ryou’s back and the couch cushions. “I think,” he said, “if Kaiba wasn’t okay, you wouldn’t be here right now. And I think that shows that _you’re_ the one who’s not okay here.”

Ryou looked away. Maybe he was just doing this for attention. Wait, no, his therapist had told him to call out those thoughts for the bullshit that they were. Still… “Am I a bad boyfriend?”

Bakhure outright laughed at that one.

Ryou frowned, nose crinkling. “It’s a genuine question!”

Bakhure shook his head and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. “I know. That’s why I find it so funny.” He patted Ryou’s shoulder. “Ryou, I didn’t do the whole boyfriend thing when I came back, and you were still the perfect boyfriend when we were together. Even when I broke up with you, _you_ were the one comforting _me_!”

“Because you were crying.” Ryou shrugged.

“Yeah. That’s not normal.” Bakhure reached up and ruffled Ryou’s hair. “I don’t know anyone else that would do that.”

Ryou huffed and batted Bakhure’s hand away. “Then you’ve had shitty partners.”

“Exactly!” Bakhure smiled. “Ryou, you’re human. Humans make mistakes - that’s the worst and best part about it.” He dropped his hand from Ryou’s head. “If you hurt Kaiba, he’d have brought it up and you’d have talked through it. That much I know. You’re not a bad boyfriend - or a bad dom. Okay?”

Ryou sniffled again but nodded. “Okay… Thank you.”

“If you don’t stop thanking me, I’m going to slap you,” Bakhure threatened. He stood up, stretching his arms in front of him as he did so. “I’m making you tea. Three sugars, no milk, right?”

Ryou nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.” He glanced over at the television. “You’re still leeching off my Netflix, right?”

“Yeah, go ahead and pick out a horror movie.” Bakhure rolled his eyes. “Not like I needed to sleep tonight anyway.”

“Stop being a parasite and I might stop making you watch horror movies with me.” Ryou stuck out his tongue and Bakhure shot him with a finger.

“Touché.”

He wandered into the kitchen and Ryou grabbed the remote, sitting with his knees tucked up to his chest. He clicked into Netflix and glanced down. He had grabbed odd socks earlier, because he hadn’t looked at what he was doing.

One red and one blue.

The realisation made his heart sink a little lower into his stomach. If he couldn’t even focus enough to pick matching socks, how was he paying enough attention to his fiancé?

“Tea’s done.” Bakhure’s loud call interrupted Ryou’s miniature spiral and he passed Ryou a steaming cup of tea. “You haven’t picked something yet?”

Ryou looked back at the screen, then handed Bakhure the remote. “You pick. I don’t want to make choices right now.”

Bakhure took the remote and sat close to Ryou, shoulders bumping. “Okay, but no complaining over what I pick if you don’t like it.”

“No deal.”

“You’re such a prick.”

Ryou smiled softly as Bakhure clicked into _American Psycho_. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “I don’t know why you put up with me.”

Bakhure looked over at him and rested his head on Ryou’s shoulder. “You might not,” he sighed, “but I do.”

* * *

Ryou knocked on the back door of the game shop, his two bags of presents clenched tight in his hand.

Bakhure huffed, pulling his scarf up above his nose. “I don’t get why we’re here so early. The party isn’t for another two hours.”

“Yes, but I want to help Yugi set up.” Ryou smiled at Bakhure. “Atem’s going to be late, so he’d have to do it by himself otherwise.”

Bakhure looked away. “At least that’s a few extra hours not dealing with the Pharaoh, I guess,” he muttered.

“Exactly.” Ryou turned back to the door as it opened, revealing Yugi.

“Oh, hi Ryou! Bakhure!”

“Your hair!” Ryou gasped, reaching up.

“Oh. Yeah.” Yugi grinned and reached up, fluffing the cropped magenta hair around his ears. “Didn’t Bakhure tell you? Malik took me to his stylist when he came back.”

“Why would I tell him that?” Bakhure asked, pushing past them. “Not like it’s a big deal.”

“Yes it is! You look amazing!” Ryou gushed. He touched the top of Yugi’s head cautiously, then ruffled his hair. “I never thought I’d see you with only two colours in your hair.”

“Hey, the blond fringe is iconic.” Yugi grinned and the corners of his eyes wrinkled. “I had to keep it.”

“Still, it looks much better without the black dye in it.” Ryou’s smile grew and he switched his bag to his right hand. “I’d better put these inside-”

“Oh, right. Come in.” Yugi opened the door properly so Ryou could get in without pushing past him like Bakhure had.

Ryou happily stepped in from the cold and slipped his shoes off at the doorway. “Thank you.” He followed Yugi into the kitchen, where Bakhure was already helping himself to a beer.

“Couldn’t even give me a hello first?” Yugi asked, poking Bakhure’s side.

Bakhure straightened, a can of _Singha_ beer in hand, and wrapped one arm around Yugi. “Next thing I know, you’ll be demanding I bring roses every time I visit.” He kissed Yugi’s cheek. “But thank you for getting _Singha_.”

“No problem.” Yugi smiled at him, and then looked over at Ryou. “Did you get presents for _everyone_?”

“Mhm.” Ryou smiled. “I’ll help you set up for the party and I can put them under the tree, if that suits.”

He pulled off his coat and scarf, hanging them on the coat hanger behind the kitchen door. He left his sweater on - it was still chilly, and he didn’t want to reveal any more of his outfit just yet. He’d even packed his party boots deep beneath the presents for the sake of a big reveal.

“Of course, but you didn’t need to get something for everyone,” Yugi sighed.

“I wanted to.” Ryou glanced at the various packages of plastic cups and plates on the counters. “Will I bring these in?”

“Sure. Thanks.” Yugi smiled and started picking up the bottles of alcohol and punch, and Ryou followed him into the den with a package of plastic cups. He set them up as Yugi wandered back to the kitchen for food, and when Yugi returned, Ryou was putting his presents under the tree.

The air was a little too quiet, and when Ryou looked back, Yugi was watching him.

“You can ask,” Ryou sighed. He placed Jounouchi’s present in the tree itself so it wouldn’t get lost. “I’m not going to have a breakdown.”

“Sorry.” Yugi flushed.

“Don’t be.” Ryou shrugged. “Just ask.”

“So… you’ve been staying with Bakhure since Thursday?” Yugi asked as he set the bowl of gingerbread men on the table.

“Yeah.” Ryou picked up a gingerbread man and bit into it. Yugi had baked them himself, and iced them by the look of the sloppy colours. Yugi’s baking wasn’t aesthetically stunning but his work tasted like the food of angels. “These are gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” Yugi tapped Ryou’s hand. “But those are for later. And are you really that mad Seto can’t make it tonight?”

Ryou bit his lip and looked away. “I’m not mad he couldn’t make it. I never was.” He dropped onto the sofa, legs tucked beneath him. “I mean, was I upset? Sure. I wanted to spend Christmas eve with him and my friends. But I wasn’t mad.”

Yugi sat beside him, tentative in comparison, perched on the edge of the cushioned seat. “So, what’s wrong now?”

“He didn’t talk to me.” Ryou leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. “He thought I was angry, or at least bothered by something, and he didn’t even come to me about it. He went to Atem instead.”

“People do that a lot-” Yugi began.

“Not us.” Ryou looked over at him. “We always talk to one another when something’s wrong. We don’t do the whole going behind one another’s back to try and decipher what’s going on thing.”

Or at least, that’s what Ryou had thought.

Ryou sighed and closed his eyes. “Maybe I’m overreacting,” he whispered. “I just-” He swallowed hard. “The first time I ever saw embroidered curtains was when I went to Seto’s,” he said. “I always thought I’d never meet anyone who could afford to have hand-embroidered curtains. Forget that, I didn’t even realise it was a thing.”

“What do curtains have to do with anything?” Yugi tilted his head.

“Seto has hand-embroidered curtains,” Ryou repeated, “and I- when I was leaving, I got dressed too quickly and I put on odd socks. I can’t even pull matching socks out of a drawer-” His throat closed up. “It’s so stupid.” He clenched his jaw and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “He’s just- He’s had so many more opportunities, and he’s met so many amazing people.”

“Including you.” Yugi placed his hand on Ryou’s knee. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

“I’m not. I just-” Ryou’s hands dropped into his lap. “What if- What if that represents who we are? He’s the… the embroidered curtains of people, and I’m just mismatched socks.” He looked at Yugi. “He could have so much better. What if he realises that?”

Hot tears were spilling down his cheeks now, faster than he could stop them. Ryou sobbed and curled in on himself, clutching his middle tightly.

“What if he realises that and- and he gets bored of me?”

“Ryou…” Yugi wrapped his arms around Ryou, pulling him closer. “That’s never going to happen.”

“You don’t know that.” Ryou shook his head. “No one knows that for sure except him!”

Yugi sighed and rested his chin on Ryou’s head.

Ryou took a shaky breath. “I don’t want to self-sabotage,” he said, “but is this… can you tell me with absolute certainty he _won’t_ get bored of me?” He looked up at Yugi. “He’s off negotiating a trade deal that I don’t even vaguely understand right now, and I’m at a Christmas eve party with friends from high school.”

Yugi flicked Ryou’s forehead. “There’s nothing wrong with still being friends with people you went through near-hell with during high school,” he said. “But no. I can’t tell you that.”

Ryou looked away, rubbing the spot Yugi flicked.

“In the same way,” Yugi continued, “I can’t tell you with _absolute certainty_ that there’s no chance of someone using shadow magic again in our lifetime. There are no absolutes. With everything we’ve been through, you should know that.” He leaned in and pressed his forehead to Ryou’s. “But I can tell you that Seto loves you. And that I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you.”

Ryou sniffed and met Yugi’s gaze. “You mean it?”

“Of course.” Yugi smiled.

Ryou let out a shaky breath and finally returned the hug. “Thanks, Yugi,” he whispered.

“Now… kiss.”

Ryou looked up to see Bakhure leaning against the doorframe with a bowl of popcorn.

“You wish,” Yugi called over his shoulder. He sat back and looked over at his partner. “And put that away! That whole bowl isn’t meant for you.”

“Too bad.” Bakhure threw a kernel into the air and caught it in his mouth. “Come and get it if you want it.”

Yugi huffed and stood, but Ryou caught his wrist.

“I mean it,” Ryou said. “Thank you. I think stress over everything just got to me.”

“It’s okay.” Yugi gave him a smile. “Just talk to Seto about it, okay? Sort it out like you just told me you always do. You’re acting like a romcom trope.”

Ryou gasped. “How dare you! If anything, I’m a horror trope!”

“Then prove it and talk to your partner.” Yugi smiled and turned to his own boyfriend. “Now Bakhure, get your ass back here with that popcorn. Sharing is caring!”

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t care!”

* * *

“As I previously stated in our emails,” Seto said, doing his best not to grit his teeth, “sixty is far too low. I can’t simply offer you premium stock in bulk at the same price as the vendor down the street from you is offering for some sub-quality item.”

“We’re not asking that of you.” Takashi from a gaming manufacturer sub-contractor smiled at Seto through his teeth. “We’re simply asking for a… small discount for such a large bulk order.”

Seto arched an eyebrow. Takashi had deemed it appropriate to bring two lawyers and a secretary, so Seto couldn’t exactly say everything that he wanted to in that moment, but a deep breath eased the need, even just a little.

He rested his elbows on the table, bridging his fingers under his chin. “And what discount do you feel would be acceptable?”

“A small eighteen percent should suffice.”

Seto scoffed.

“Could you repeat that, Kaiba-san?”

“I didn’t say a word.” Seto leaned in. “Takashi, if I offer your company eighteen percent lower than everyone else, I’m going to be facing contracts pulled left, right and center. I can’t exactly have that.”

“Name a price,” Takashi urged. “I’m sure we can work it out. I have nowhere to be tonight - do you?”

Seto glanced at the clock above the door. Half nine. It was already later than he’d agreed to let the meeting run on for, which he’d expected, but he hadn’t anticipated Ryou spending two nights at Bakhure’s and not interacting with him at work, which had increased his stress considerably.

But there wasn’t exactly anything he could do. He was in the middle of a meeting. It wasn’t as though he could run out.

“No.”

“Excellent.” Takashi leaned back in his chair. “Now our competitors are paying sixty percent of the market singular price, correct?”

“Sixty two,” Seto corrected, “to be precise.”

Takashi waved his words away like they were stray flies. “Yes, of course. Our clients are looking to pay eighty two percent of that, making it fifty percent instead of sixty two. You still make a considerable profit-”

“And Kaiba Corporations faces a billion-yen lawsuit from numerous gaming companies for handing their main competitor a better deal halfway through the game,” Seto cut in. “This late in, I should be demanding eighty percent from you. Not sixty-two.”

“Now, now.” Takashi wagged his finger. “You said sixty-two-”

“I said _your competitors_ were paying sixty-two.” Seto leaned forward. “But they came to me before the stock prices shot up and did their fair share of work in promoting the product. After that, you want to come in, having done no work in increasing the value of the product, and ask me to undersell it so you can make the profit instead of the people who did the work in the first place?”

Takashi ran his tongue over his teeth behind his lips. “So, your ideal would be eighty percent of the regular price for my client,” he said.

“My ideal would be a hundred percent,” Seto said, “but in this situation, yes.”

“And my client’s ideal is fifty.”

“Fifty-one,” Seto corrected. “If you’re going to bargain with me, get your figures straight. Eighty-two percent of sixty-two is fifty point eight four, which rounds up. Not down.”

“Very well.” Takashi waved his hand again. “Fifty-one. Then you’ll say seventy-five, I’ll say fifty-five, you’ll say seventy, and so on. How about we cut the needless bargaining now and settle on sixty-five?” He raised his eyebrows. “My client pays slightly more than your current clients, so you can appease them and assure them they’re getting the lowest price, and I can go back and tell my clients they’ve gotten a good price this far in. Compromise. Everybody wins.”

Seto looked up at the clock again. The party would be in full swing, but if he left now, he could make the last few hours of it. No, he’d caused this argument with Ryou specifically for this deal. He had to at least finish it.

“I have no intentions on settling at sixty-five,” he said. “Your clients charge three times whatever they pay for a single item, so if I go to sixty-five, they undercut people coming in at the same time as them. Should I tell the small businesses here in Domino that they’re going to go out of business because a Tokyo gaming company could afford to hire a bigshot lawyer to fight their battles for them? I can tell you right now that the King of Games would be the first one to pull his gaming shop’s contract with Kaiba Corp, and he wouldn’t be the last.”

“Are you really so dependent on one small customer?”

“I’d hardly consider the King of Games small in any manner beyond his height.” Seto glanced at the clock again.

Damn it, he had to focus. This meeting was the reason for the fight, so he had to pull a good result from it, or it would all be for naught.

“Tell you what,” Takashi said, “seventy-two. That’s higher than the middle and a decent profit for you.”

Seto looked at the clock again. “Eighty.”

“There’s no point to a compromise meeting if you won’t compromise,” Takashi pointed out.

“Eighty,” Seto repeated.

“Seventy-two.”

“Eighty.”

“Seventy-three.”

Seto looked at the clock again.

“I’m sorry, Kaiba-san,” Takashi drawled. “I thought you said you had nowhere to be. Are we keeping you from a particularly riveting night you neglected to mention?”

What was he doing? This was exactly what he’d sworn against doing after Gozaburo. An important meeting was an important meeting-

He was arguing over _seven fucking percent_ when his fiancé was at a party without him on Christmas eve, having wanted Seto to go too. Seto’s grip on his own hand tightened. What was the point of a company to sustain a life of comfort himself and his family if they couldn’t even reap the benefits of it while they were alive?

Seto stood up, pushing his chair back from the table.

“Kaiba-san?”

“I changed my mind,” he said. “I do, as a matter of fact, have somewhere to be.” He looked at Takashi. “Seventy-four. Take it or leave it. I’ll have my secretary draw up a contract for you after the holiday.”

“Kaiba-san, we still need-”

Seto rounded the table, grabbed a file from one of the lawyers and opened it to the appropriate page. On this, he marked the offered discounted price and signed his name.

“There.” He pushed the file back. “I’ll have my secretary escort you out.” He grabbed his coat and strode out of the office, leaving Takashi and the lawyers spluttering over the hastily signed papers, and walked up to Miho.

“Kaiba-san,” she greeted as he approached, “I didn’t expect you to be finished so soon.” She had a few files open on her desk.

“Neither did I.” He gave her a small smile. “Get them out of the building and send them a contract for seventy-four percent.”

Miho frowned. “But you said not to go below eighty-”

“Things have changed.” Seto shook his head. “Draw up the contract, send it to them, and cancel my meetings up until the second of January. Yours too. And enjoy the holiday.”

“Oh, uh- Thank you sir!” Miho bowed her head. “Happy holidays.”

“You too, Miho.” Seto nodded and turned away, walking to the elevator. Once he was outside the building, he called his chauffeur and stepped into the car that rolled up outside the offices.

“Where to, sir?” The chauffeur asked.

“Mutou’s game shop,” Seto decided. “As quickly as you can.”

Seto pulled out his phone and sent Ryou a text, letting him know he was on the way, but the read receipt remained elusive. He clicked into Instagram - his private one, of course - and swiped through a few of Yugi’s stories. All photos of the party, with everyone having a good time. Jounouchi and Honda drinking, Bakhure kissing Yugi’s cheek, Anzu playing some new dance game against Ryou. The camera was focused on Anzu though, so Seto only caught flashes of white hair in the background.

Damn it, Seto was going to strangle Yugi when he got there. Though an apology was probably more prudent now.

The car slowed, and Seto slipped his phone into his pocket before stepping out onto the sidewalk outside the game shop. “You can go back to the manor,” he told the driver. “I’ll call when I’m ready to be collected.”

“I can wait around here if it suits,” the chauffeur offered. “It won’t make a difference to me, but you’ll be spared the wait on your way home-”

“That’s fine.” Seto nodded. “Feel free to get food if you’re hungry.” He shut the door behind him and made his way to the backdoor, where he rang the doorbell and waited.

After a minute, the door swung open to reveal Yugi, with Bakhure hanging off him, giggling. “Damn it, Bakhure! That tickles! Knock it off-”

“Yugi,” Seto greeted.

Yugi froze and looked up properly. “Seto? I thought-” His eyes widened. “Ryou said you were in a meeting all night.”

“I got out early.” Seto glanced through the door, beyond Yugi and Bakhure. “Can I come in?”

“Only if you’re not an asshole,” Bakhure grumbled.

Yugi flicked Bakhure’s forehead and backed up to let Seto in. “Of course! Ryou’s still playing Anzu, I think, but he’ll be delighted to see you.”

Seto nodded, slipped out of his shoes, and walked past the two into the den. Jounouchi and Honda were lounged on the couch, cheering Anzu on, and Kek was in the corner with Otogi and Shizuka playing a game. Atem was nowhere to be seen - possibly off hooking up with Malik. Seto wouldn’t put it past Malik to seduce the Pharaoh, if only for the bragging rights that came with bedding a king.

Ryou and Anzu were in the middle of the room, where the coffee table was, bathed in the flashing neon lights from the screen.

And Seto couldn’t help but stare.

Ryou had tied half of his hair up. The sides were into a narrow braid, connected at the back of his head, almost like a laurel, and the rest spilled around his shoulders as he danced. He’d donned a thin layer of eyeliner and his cheeks shimmered with some highlighter. His nails were black, and a pair of tight black jeans clung to his legs, ripped in a few places to expose fishnet tights beneath. A few thick chains hung from the belt loops and rang like miniature bells when he jumped and twisted with the music, swaying his hips. A cropped black turtleneck with an abstract white dragon on it covered his chest, but left his stomach bare. His belly was soft from sweets and a sedentary job, and Seto knew Ryou was usually self-conscious about it given how many of their friends were into bodybuilding, but he looked stunning when he showed it off.

He just looked… stunning.

The song ended shortly after, and Anzu was declared the winner of the game, though not by much. Ryou laughed and gave her a high-five as her prize before wandering off to the displaced coffee table to grab his drink.

Seto used the chance to walk over to him, though when he reached Ryou, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do. “Hi.”

Ryou looked up and paused when their gazes met. “Seto…” He licked his lower lip. “Hi…” He looked around. “Damn it, I hoped I’d be wearing my boots if you showed up.”

Seto’s lip quirked up. “The knee-high leather ones?”

Ryou nodded and sighed. “With the narrow heels, yeah. I took them off to dance.”

“I’ll see them later.” Seto chewed his lower lip. “I’m sorry-”

“I’m so sorry,” Ryou said at the same time.

They both stopped, watching one another. Ryou cracked first, snorting, and covered his face with his hand.

“Sorry. You go first.”

“I-” Seto shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I should have talked to you instead of going to Atem.” He looked out at the party. “And I shouldn’t have brushed off coming tonight because of some meeting.”

“It was important-” Ryou began.

“Not as important as family.” Seto took Ryou’s hand. “I need to remember why I fought for this company - to give my family and I the chances we never got to live and enjoy our lives. Meetings are important but… not more important.”

Ryou gave Seto a smile and wiped the side of his face on his shoulder so he didn’t have to pull his hands away. “I’m sorry too,” he said. “I got… I got self-conscious when you went to Atem, and with everything going on lately. I know it’s stupid, but I was… scared I wasn’t enough for you.” He squeezed Seto’s hands. “And that’s not on you - that’s on how I view myself and my worth, and I’m sorry I put that on you.”

Seto returned the smile, running his thumb over Ryou’s scarred hand. “I guess we both kind of messed up.”

“I guess so.” Ryou’s face fell. “Wait, it’s only half ten. How are you here? I thought you’d only be leaving the meeting at eleven.”

Seto’s smile grew a touch and he shrugged. “I bailed a little early.”

Ryou gaped at him. “But that was important-”

“Not as important as you.” Seto pulled him closer and kissed Ryou’s cheek. “Besides, I still got a decent deal.”

Ryou giggled and turned his head to steal a proper kiss from Seto. “Of course you did.” He reached up to cup Seto’s cheek with one hand. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I… Thank you.”

“Thank you too.” Seto smiled and kissed him again. “Now come on - I want to see you thrash Anzu at that game this time.”

The party went on until early in the morning, when eventually, Seto called for the car to drive him and Ryou home. They stumbled through the door, giddy on alcohol and one another’s touch. They hurried up the hall to their bedroom, and once the door was shut behind them, Ryou pushed Seto to the wall, kissing him.

Seto moaned into Ryou’s mouth and fumbled for the buttons on Ryou’s jeans, while his fiancé made a quick job of freeing Seto from his shirt.

“You looked amazing tonight,” Seto breathed, tugging Ryou’s jeans down. “You should wear shirts like that more often.”

Ryou flushed and hugged his middle. “You know I get self-conscious-”

“I know.” Seto leaned down to kiss Ryou again. “But you still look stunning, and I’m going to remind you of that as often as I need to until you can believe me.”

Ryou returned the kiss, their lips brushing together at first, and then pressing harder with more tongue and less rhythm as they progressed. Seto pushed Ryou back, and Ryou stumbled onto the bed.

Seto grinned as Ryou kicked off his pants and underwear. The fishnet tights beneath, however, ended up being thigh-high stockings, which caused blood to rush straight to Seto’s cock.

“I may have been _fishing_ for your attention,” Ryou laughed, face red.

Seto pressed him down into the mattress and kissed him again. “You look stunning,” he repeated. Despite the terrible pun, it was true. He brushed his fingers up Ryou’s sides, slipping beneath Ryou’s top. Ryou shivered at the touch and arched beneath Seto’s fingers.

Seto moved to kiss down Ryou’s neck, and Ryou moaned as Seto bit just above his collarbone.

“Seto!”

“Mm…” Seto pulled back just enough to pull Ryou’s shirt off and toss his own pants away. “Can you grab the-”

“On it,” Ryou grunted. Seto looked back to see him stretching for the bedside locker on the other side of the bed, and he returned shortly with a triumphant grin, lube and condoms in hand.

“You could have stood up to get them.”

“But then I’d have had to move.” Ryou hooked one leg around Seto’s waist, hitching up against him. “And I’m _very_ comfortable right now.”

Seto’s eyes lidded and he stole the lube from Ryou’s hand. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, it’ll make you see stars.”

Ryou’s breath hitched and his pupil’s widened. “You’d better.”

Seto sucked the side of Ryou’s neck again as he coated his fingers with lube and slipped a finger into Ryou. Then a second, and third, and pulled back to slip a condom on. When he was done, he added a touch more lube. It was a while since Ryou had been in the mood to bottom.

Still, Ryou hitched his hips up as Seto nudged the tip of his cock against his fiancé’s ass. “Seto, _please_ \- ah!”

Seto moaned too as he slipped into Ryou. He eased in until he was fully sheathed, then tapped Ryou’s thigh. “Scoot down a bit,” he murmured. As Ryou did so, Seto grabbed a pillow and propped it up behind Ryou’s head. “Don’t want you hurting your back again.”

Ryou flushed. “That wasn’t because of you fucking me.”

“Still.” Seto’s lip quirked up. He adjusted Ryou’s leg around him and thrust into Ryou again.

Any argument Ryou had been about to make bled into a moan and his head fell back onto the pillow. “Oh, _fuck_ , yes!”

“Yeah?” Seto kissed the side of Ryou’s neck. Dark hickeys were already blooming on the pale skin. “Is that good?”

“Mm, more!” Ryou whined.

“More what?”

“Set-oh!” Ryou arched again as Seto thrust his hips again. “Please! Fuck me!”

Seto never had the patience Ryou did when it came to edging, so he leaned forward and captured Ryou’s lips in a deep kiss, slamming into his fiancé. Ryou moaned into his mouth, clinging to Seto’s back and shoulders.

The moonlight dyed Ryou’s hair starlight, and Seto threaded his fingers through it, giving it a light tug. Ryou moaned at the pull, arms tightening around Seto. His hips hitched up faster and he tightened around Seto.

Seto slipped his hand between them, wrapping it around Ryou’s cock. Ryou whimpered, hitching into his touch. It was so easy to forget how sensitive Ryou got when he bottomed. The look of pure bliss on his face, teeth burrowed into his lip, was getting Seto even more worked up than before.

Drunk as they were, they couldn’t last long, and Seto stroked Ryou’s cock in time to his thrusts until Ryou choked on a moan.

“Ah! Fuck, I’m- I’m close!”

Seto leaned in, pressing their lips together. Ryou moaned into his mouth and Seto punctuated his next statement with a harder thrust. “I want you to cum for me, Ryou.”

“I-I-I’m-” He cried Seto’s name as he came, gasping for breath.

Seto slowed to allow Ryou a moment to breathe, peppering kisses over Ryou’s face. “Are you okay?” He murmured.

Ryou hummed, a soft smile on his face. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Shift up for a second.”

Seto obliged, easing out of Ryou. In an instant, Ryou had reversed their positions so Seto was flat on his back on the bed, his fiancé straddling his hips.

“Figured this,” Ryou murmured, “would be better.” He wrapped his hand around Seto’s cock and guided it into himself once again.

Seto moaned, grabbing Ryou’s hips. “Shit, Ry-”

Ryou hummed, a slow smile spreading across his lips as he circled his hips. “You sound close.”

“I am,” Seto gasped. “Fuck, Ryou, you- you’re-”

He couldn’t even word it. Sitting atop him, bathed in silver, Ryou looked like one of the old, vicious faeries from long before. Ryou bit his lip, circling his hips faster, and Seto squeezed his eyes shut.

The pressure in his groin tightened and he bucked his hips up to match Ryou’s pace, fingers digging into the soft flesh at Ryou’s hips.

“I’m gonna- fuck, Ryou! I’m cumming!” Seto’s grip tightened and he pulled Ryou down. Ryou’s ass slapped against Seto’s thighs as Seto bucked up int him. Seto’s entire body tensed as he came, and then he dropped back onto the bed, flush and out of breath.

Ryou smiled and leaned down, plucking a kiss from Seto’s lips. “Thank you for being there tonight.”

Seto snorted, still catching his breath. “I would have been a fool to miss it.” He traced soft patterns with the tips of his fingers into Ryou’s hips and thighs. “I wasn’t too rough, was I?”

“Of course not.” Ryou kissed him again. “You were perfect.”

Seto hummed, leaning into the kisses. After a few minutes, he shifted up. “We should probably shower.”

Ryou sighed. “I’m too sleepy for that. One sec.” He grabbed a packet of wipes from his locker, slipping out of Seto’s lap. While Seto pulled off the used condom, tied it, and dropped it in the bin, Ryou cleaned himself off and offered Seto the wipes.

He climbed into the bed, and once he was clean enough, Seto joined in. Beneath the covers, everything was warm and soft, and Ryou’s arms wound around him.

“I love you,” Seto murmured, “so much.”

“Mm, love you too.” Ryou nuzzled into Seto’s chest, eyes already shut.

Seto wrapped an arm around Ryou’s shoulders, toying with loose strands of his hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the clock, and his smile returned. “Ryou,” he whispered. “Are you still awake?”

Ryou grumbled wordlessly.

“Ryou.”

“What?” Ryou blinked up at him, brow knitted.

Seto’s smile grew a touch. “Merry Christmas.”

Ryou’s frown melted and he settled back into Seto. “Merry Christmas,” he sighed. “Now go to sleep. Your nieces will be in to wake us up before you even close your eyes if you’re not careful.”

Seto chuckled but obliged, letting his eyes slip closed, and wrapped in Ryou’s arms, he slept peacefully once again.

* * *

Ryou yawned as he opened his eyes. Seto’s arm was draped around his middle, holding him close, head buried in his hair. They’d forgotten to close the curtains in their excitement earlier, so light shone through directly onto Ryou’s face. He smiled and shifted up, stretching his arms in front of him.

Seto grumbled wordlessly and cracked open one eye. His cheek was pressed against the pillow, giving him a cute pout.

“Morning, love.” Ryou’s smile grew and he leaned down to kiss Seto’s temple. “Merry Christmas.”

Seto whined and rubbed his eye. “Is it morning already?” He yawned. “My head hurts.”

“That’s what you get for drinking whiskey.” Ryou kissed Seto’s nose.

“You drank whiskey and you’re brighter than usual.” Seto covered his face with his arm.

Ryou laughed and pushed his hair back. It spilled down around his shoulders, tangled from the night, still caught in a half braid. “I drink enough water during the day.” He leaned down. “And I haven’t heard you say it back yet.”

Seto lifted his arm, a frown on his face. He opened his mouth, possibly to ask what Ryou was talking about, before a soft smile spread on his lips. “Oh. Merry Christmas to you too.”

Ryou’s own smile grew and he climbed out of the bed. He pulled on yesterday’s boxers and wandered into the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb the tangles out of his hair. By the time he’d returned, Seto was sitting up, rubbing a hand over his face.

“For someone who works so late at night and early in the morning,” Ryou commented, “you really are terrible at waking up.”

Seto’s lip quirked up and he grabbed Ryou’s hand, pulling him down to kiss his cheek. “That’s where my copious amounts of caffeine come in.”

“Good point,” Ryou hummed. “But we can get coffee in a few minutes.”

Seto sighed, leaning into his touch. “My love,” he said. “Sweet fiancé of mine. Why do you keep me from the coffee I so dearly crave?”

Ryou giggled and nudged him. “Quit the dramatics. Trust me, you’ll like this.” He half-ran to the walk-in wardrobe installed on the other side of their room, fetched a small package from one of his drawers, and returned to the bed.

He knelt on the ground by the bed, certain that if he climbed back on next to Seto, they wouldn’t move for at least another hour. As much as Ryou teased Seto for his dramatics, he was as much of a caffeine addict as his partner was.

“I wanted to give this to you before Mokuba arrives with their family.”

Seto took the present and examined the wrapping with a small grin. “Is this a gift only I can see?”

Ryou shook his head and Seto’s expression grew more sober. “I do have one-” Ryou assured him. “-or two of those for later, but this isn’t a sexy gift. It’s just… I wanted to give it to you in private.”

Seto sat up properly, feet planted on the floor, and Ryou used the chance to rest his cheek against Seto’s knee.

“Are you sure I can open it now?” Seto asked, turning it over.

Maybe Ryou had gone a little overboard. It was wrapped in blue matte paper with silver ribbon, curled into tight spirals around a white wax seal. A wax seal with a dragon on it, no less. A wax seal that may have been cleaned after the one use, repackaged, and wrapped under the tree with Seto’s name on it.

“Of course.”

“You look like you put a lot of work into it.” Seto picked at the edges, moving the ribbon rather than breaking it.

Ryou shook his head, a smile returning. “You know I enjoy wrapping. Open it. There’s plenty more downstairs for you to be careful with later.”

Seto met his gaze and finally tore the paper off. Within was a plain white box, and when Seto pried it open, a leather wallet with silver detailing stared up at him. Slowly, he picked it up and opened it. He plucked out the card within and read it, and Ryou used the chance to admire the craftsmanship of the wallet. He’d ordered it custom-made from a local leathersmith. Definitely worth the money.

“Is this-?” Seto looked up from the card and Ryou nodded.

“The constellations on the day we got engaged, right over the manor.” He smiled. “I tried to pinpoint it precisely to over the hedge maze, but apparently that was a little too specific, and-”

He was cut off as Seto’s arms wound around him, pulling him up onto the bed again for a hug.

Ryou smiled and kissed Seto’s cheek. “Turn it over.”

Seto obliged and blinked back tears when he saw the back. In the same detailing as the front were their initials, followed by, ‘I’ll love you, forevermore’.

“I love you,” Seto whispered. “Thank you so much, Ryou.”

“I love you too.” Ryou nuzzled the side of Seto’s head. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it. I love you.” Seto paused. “I already said that.”

Ryou shook his head, meeting Seto’s gaze. “I love you too, you dork.” He poked the tip of Seto’s nose. “Make me some coffee before the kids get here? Since I gave you an early present?”

Seto scoffed but wiped his eyes on the back of his hand. “Fine.” He gave Ryou another squeeze before walking to the wardrobe to get dressed.

Ryou hummed, watching Seto’s ass as he walked, but shook the thoughts from his head. No point in getting wound up and being unable to do anything about it for the whole day. He picked up his phone from the bedside table and unplugged it, and it instantly vibrated.

Ryou frowned, opened it, and checked his call log. “Shit.”

Seto peeked out from the wardrobe. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” He dialled Bakhure’s number, holding it up to his ear. “I’ve got five missed calls from Bakhure.” He waited a moment, and after a few dials, Bakhure picked up.

 _“Ryou_?”

“Bakhure?” Ryou rubbed his face. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

Bakhure hiccupped. _“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”_

“You- you rang me five times-” Ryou dropped his hand to his side. “Bakhure, are you drunk?”

 _“Just a little.”_ Bakhure replied. “ _But I never really sobered up yet. Oh yeah, Ryou, listen! I remember why I wanted to call you_!” He shushed someone on the other end of the line, probably Yugi. “ _Ryou, I’m engaged!”_

Ryou stared at the nothingness in front of him. “What?”

“ _Yugi hid an engagement ring in my presents and proposed!”_ Bakhure sounded some odd mix of scared and excited. _“Can you believe this prick?”_

 _“Hey!”_ Yugi shouted in the background. “ _You said yes!”_

“Oh my gods, Bakhure!” Ryou squealed. “I can’t believe it! Congratulations!”

“ _Huh?”_ Bakhure asked. “ _Oh, yeah. Congrats to us! You need to come over, okay? Later or tomorrow, cause I’m freaking out, like- Ryou, holy fuck, I’m getting married!”_

Ryou laughed. “Go sober up and kiss your fiancé! And don’t scare me like that again.” He looked out the window. He could just about see a black Rolls Royce driving through the gates. “I need to go. Looks like Mokuba’s here. But seriously, congratulations. To both of you.”

_“Okay, good luck with the brats. And… thanks.”_

“No problem, Bakhure.” Ryou hung up, just as Seto wrapped his arms around Ryou from behind.

“All okay?”

“Yugi finally proposed.” Ryou tilted his head back to smile at Seto.

“Damn it.”

“Yup. That’s two thousand yen.” He patted Seto’s cheek lightly. “Told you Bakhure wouldn’t do it.”

“And to think I had faith in him.” Seto sighed. “Well, you know what this means.”

Ryou shifted, turning to face Seto properly. “No? What?”

Seto smiled and brushed his nose against Ryou’s. “We just have to make sure our wedding is a thousand times better than theirs.”

Ryou giggled and stood on his toes to kiss Seto. “I love you,” he murmured. “But I should really get properly dressed. Mokuba’s early.”

“Of course they are.” Seto sighed, pressing his forehead to Ryou’s. “Well, it should be interesting at least. I’ll make coffee.”

“And I’ll get the sweets once I’m dressed.” Ryou stole one more kiss. “I love having family Christmases after all this time.”

Seto smiled, eyes crinkling in the corners.

“What?”

“You called it a family Christmas.”

“Because it is.” Ryou’s smile softened. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Seto gave Ryou a gentle squeeze. “Merry Christmas, Ryou.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! If you want to support me, you can find me on patreon (DisposableVillain) with daily cosplay photos and writing updates, and I'm selling LGBT friendly and recycled resin crafts on etsy/depop (Fear Dearg Crafts) as well (LINKS IN BIO)! Any support would be fantastic! Thank you so much again, and have a great day!


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